aviation

Aviation law governs the operation of aircraft and the maintenance of aviation facilities. Both federal and state governments have enacted statutes and created administrative agencies to regulate air traffic.

Using its constitutional authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce , Congress has enacted several federal laws pertaining to air navigation. The first of these was the 1926 Air Commerce Act , which provided for the certification and registration of aircraft employed in interstate or foreign commerce, among other things. The statute was amended in 1938 by the Civil Aeronautics Act , which created the "Civil Aeronautics Authority," a five-member panel with the power to regulate all aspects of aviation within federal jurisdiction. Later, a Civil Aeronautics Board replaced the five-member panel, and most of its power was transferred to the Department of Commerce .

Congress passed the Federal Aviation Act in 1958 , establishing the Federal Aviation Administration . Since then, several subsequent federal acts, including the Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970 and the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 , have further regulated aviation or, in the case of the latter, limited future regulation. Under these laws, states are prohibited from regulating rates, routes, or services of any air carrier authorized under the Federal Aviation Act to provide interstate air transportation. States are not prohibited, however, from enacting their own laws consistent with federal laws or altering existing remedies under state law.

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress enacted the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 , which established a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) within the Department of Transportation. The TSA now resides under the Department of Homeland Security .

Menu of Sources

Federal Material

U.S. Constitution and Federal Statutes

• Airport and Runway Improvement - 49 U.S.C., Subtitle VII

Federal Agency Regulations

• Code of Federal Regulations: 14 C.F.R. - Aeronautics and Space

Key Resources

• Federal Agencies:
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security
    • Transportation Security Administration
  • U.S. Department of Transportation
  • U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
  • NASA
    • Ames Research Center
    • Armstrong Flight Research Center
    • Goddard Institute for Space Studies
    • Johnson Space Center
    • Kennedy Space Center
    • Langley Research Center
    • Glenn Research Center
    • Marshall Space FlightCenter
    • John C. Stennis Space Center
    • Wallops Flight Facility
• ABA Forum on Air and Space Law
• Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University
• Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (includes information from Subcommittee on Aviation)

[Last reviewed in January of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team ]

Wex

• aviation
• COMMERCE
• wex articles
• business sectors